Shutters for windows and doors usually have a frame, hinged to the window or door opening, and rotatable louvres extending across the frame, from side to side. A control bar is connected to the louvres. Moving the control bar rotates all the louvres. In this way the louvres can be tilted open for light and air, or tilted up or down and closed for privacy.
Shutters have been made in this general pattern for hundreds of years. Usually they were made of wood. The control bar was connected to the louvres, in earlier designs, by a pair of wire staples, one secured to the control bar and the other secured to the louvre.
This was primitive, and tended to become disengaged, over time. It is desirable to provide a shutter with louvres and a control bar and an improved connector connecting the control bar to each of the louvres. This connector should provide a secure attachment to both the control bar, and also to each of the louvres. The connector must have a hinging action to permit tilting of the louvres, up or down, as the control bar is moved. The connector should also be such that is easy to assemble and install.
Various different connector devices have been used in the past. In one system, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,598, Ohanessian, the connectors were attached to a stick. The stick was then installed in a control bar. This imposed limits on the spacing between louvres. The spacing of the louvres depends one the actual size of the window opening. This may vary. To adjust for this the shutters may have to be made with custom specific louvre spacings.
This in turn requires custom specific spacings of the connectors on the control bar. This was not possible where the spacings between the connectors on the control bar were already predetermined.
An improved system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,925 N Marocco, Aug. 27 1996. In this system the connectors are separate from the control bar. A somewhat related system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,547 N Marocco Mar. 28 2000.
It is desirable to provide a connector member which is simple to attach to each louvre, and to the control bar, with a minimum of hand labour and training.
However the connector should also be of strong durable construction, and have an aesthetic appearance, to complement the entire design of the product and enhance its overall appearance.